You yawn loudly as you wake up, feeling completely refreshed. Brushing you long hair behind your shoulders, you sit on your bed for a while, trying to remember the nice dreams you had last night. You rack your brains, and all that you can come up with is that it involved a feeling of acceptance. Of unconditional support and understanding. Your heart flutters at that thought, but your reverie is interrupted by one of your sisters knocking on your door.
"Hey, Mom says to go take your shower!" Said Zoe loudly.
You roll your eyes. When is that girl ever going to learn what an indoor voice meant? "Yeah, yeah, tell her I'll be down in like 20 or 30 minutes."
You gather your things and go to the bathroom, studying your reflection as you strip down. Your hair was long...has always been long. For as long you could remember, your luscious locks were always just a few inches away from your waist. A long style for a girl, let alone for a guy. You then leaned forward and looked at your face, your hand rubbing your smooth skin. Nothing unusual here, just the same old you. You just wished you weren't such a late bloomer.
You brush those thoughts out of your mind and enter the shower, almost cooing as the hot water washes against your skin. You always did like your morning showers, but today's shower was especially good. You had a big workout yesterday and your muscles were a little sore. You felt so good that you were happy to relax in the shower for a few minutes and unwind. Your thoughts slowly wander to yesterday, and you remember that those nice rams gave you a little gift. You reach for the shampoo that they gave you, and squirt out a large amount onto your hands.
The shampoo's herbal smell was intense, stronger than yesterday. There were accents of so many herbs. You could definitely discern some mint in there, and some rosemary. A closer look at the label said there were even things like kelp in the bottle! A little weird, but you couldn't argue with that pleasant odor. And when you finally massaged the herbal shampoo into your hair, you couldn't argue with the results, either
Almost immediately, your scalp and hair started to tingle intensely. Your pin-straight hair started to gently twist itself, settling into a wavy texture that made your hair look shorter. You smile as you continue to wash your hair, not noticing the color of your hair slowly leeching out. Nor did you notice your nails turn an obsidian black, or your ears becoming a bit pointier.
A thought rises up in the back of your mind as you shower. That you should take the bottle, and dump it all over yourself. Confused by that thought, you push it aside and quickly finish your shower, gingerly wrapping a towel around yourself as you step onto the cold bathroom floor. You wipe away the fog and check out your reflection.
Your dark grey hair is looking good, as usual. You always did like your grey hair. Made you look more mature, and you thought it helped counteract your gentle features. You take another moment to touch your hair, petting the soft grey strands before wrapping it up in another towel.
You step out of the bathroom with a smile in your face and a bounce in your step, your hips slowly swaying as you walked to your room. You continue to towel yourself off, and then you pull out your favorite hairdryer from your drawer. Which you've always had, despite the slight confusion you felt when you saw it. As if you've done this hundreds of times (and in your mind you have), you carefully dry your hair, making sure to not damage your tresses with heat.
With that out of the way, you take a seat at your vanity, and as if by pure instinct, your hands start to move by themselves. Settling into familiar motions, you slowly style your hair. You shape and sculpt your silvery locks, eventually settling on a large bun. A couple of bangs were left loose, wavy strands that framed your face and tickled your cheeks whenever you moved.
You've had enough time to get ready, so you put on your favorite fuzzy robe and head down the stairs, eager to start your day. Your sisters already finished eating, and they're playing in the living room as you sit down to eat in the kitchen.
Your mother looks at you for a few seconds, and she appears worried. She opens her mouth as if to say something, but then her posture relaxes, as if a wave had washed over her. Now she's just smiling at you, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Going for the librarian look today?" Teased your mother with a grin on her face.
You adjust your big grey bun and blush. "Umm...no, just wanted something low-maintenance, you know?"
Your mother patted you on the shoulder. "You know I'm teasing you, right?"
"I know, it's just that..." Your response was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.
"Oh, could you be a dear and answer the door for me?" Asked your mother as she sipped on some coffee.
You nod and walk towards the front door, enjoying how your hair felt on your head, before taking a look through the peephole. Standing on the other side were your sheep neighbors, and the two rams were both carrying bags. Your heart flutters a little as you stare at them, and you take a deep breath as you open the door.
Bo and Seth seemed almost surprised. As if they expected you to look differently. In response, you twirl one of your long bangs around your fingers, a nervous tic that you remember having for years.
"Hey guys," you mumble sheepishly, blushing as you looked down at the floor. "What're you doing here?"
Seth leaned forward and patted you on the shoulder with one of his soft, wooly, arms. You relax as he touches you. A part of you wanted to nuzzle into him, to hug him, but you fight back the urge. Your entire body was tingling pleasantly as they walked past you, almost ignoring you.
You were in too much a haze to notice that, though. As they sat down to talk with your mother, you continued to stand in the foyer, bracing yourself against a wall so you wouldn't lose your balance. Your robe felt a little loose so you tightened it.
Walking into the kitchen, the experience that you just had with the sheep was fading away from your memory, leaving behind only lingering thoughts. You tilted your head at the sight of your mother talking to the sheep. Already forgetting that you had greeted them, you walked over to the rams.
"Hey guys-" You start, before coughing a little, your voice settling into a softer, higher register. "What're you doing here?"
The rams smile mischievously, like the proverbial cat caught with the canary. "Well, we're barbers, remember?" Said Seth. "Your mom heard about us...and she filed an appointment."
Seth grins even more, running a hand through his thick white curls before handing you a package. "But wait! There's more! Open it! I know you'll love it. Bo said for me not to...but you just have to have this!"
You raise an eyebrow before you daintily open up the package. A white sweater, made from white fleece.
"Go ahead, try it on!" Insisted the ram with a smile on his face. "I made with my own wool!"
You blush. "Aw, thank you, Seth. You really shouldn't have."
Your mother and the rams got up, and you felt a wave of vertigo wash over you. Your mother, whom you normally loomed over, was now eye-level with you. But you brush that concern out of your mind as memories of being a little short entered your mind. You've been quite the late bloomer.
With your mind feeling crystal-clear, you head upstairs to try on your sweater.